Solved cryptogram
Zinc protects steel by corroding first, so a galvanized nail rusts in place of the iron.
Chemistry Facts, sourced to Royal Society of Chemistry.
What it means
This is sacrificial protection, and it works even where the coating is scratched through. Zinc gives up electrons more readily than iron does, so as long as the two are in electrical contact the zinc is the one that oxidizes and the exposed iron is left alone. The same principle puts blocks of zinc or magnesium on ship hulls and buried pipelines.
The claim comes from Royal Society of Chemistry, and the page it comes from was read on 2026-08-27 to confirm it still says this.
This is not the kind of claim that goes out of date, which is why it was set as a puzzle rather than a fact with a shelf life.
Solve it yourself
This fact is a cryptogram here: 71 letters over 20 different ones, graded medium.
- SourceRoyal Society of Chemistry
- CollectionChemistry Facts
- Difficultymedium
- Length71 letters, 20 of them different
Nearby in the collection
The facts either side of this one.
- Royal Society of Chemistryhard, 74 letters
- Royal Society of Chemistrymedium, 79 letters
- Royal Society of Chemistryhard, 77 letters
- Royal Society of Chemistryhard, 73 letters
About as hard as this one
Scored closest to it by the model behind our guide to solving cryptograms.
- Royal Society of Chemistrymedium, 77 letters
- Royal Society of Chemistryhard, 77 letters
- Royal Society of Chemistrymedium, 73 letters
- Royal Society of Chemistryhard, 73 letters